• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.261-266
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• 2015

We have analyzed the external morphology and the environment of the foraging site of Vespertilio sinensis. The external morphology was analyzed by twelve parameters and the environment characteristics of the foraging site was analyzed using GIS 10.1 program. The wing membrane was inserted into the ankle of the hind foot and the wing ratio was 1.42, the middle type between broad-short wing type and long-narrow wing type. The fur color was blackish brown but the guard hair color was whitish. The shape of the ear was a rounded triangle and tragus was a fan shape. This study showed that V. sinensis preferred the deciduous forest of the upper forest zone, where human interference was less. We believed that abundance of insects, depending on water system, was closely related to the use of the foraging site. This result showed that the environment characteristics was very similar to the nature preservation zone including Baekyang valley and Keumsun valley in Naejangsan National Park.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.817-826
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• 2017

We analyzed how foraging area use changed in female Pipistrellus abramus during the breeding season. Radio tracking was used to follow 12 female P. abramus in Gyeongju City, from 2013 to 2015. We followed three bats in each of four stages of reproduction: early pregnancy, late pregnancy, lactation, and post-lactation. Our data showed that the usable area of a foraging site and the area that was actually used by bats in that site were different, and foraging site use also differed according to stage of reproduction. The bats used arable land the most, with use rates of 57%, 40.4%, and 73.2% during early pregnancy, late pregnancy, and lactation, respectively. Bats in a post-lactation state did not use arable areas at all and instead foraged over bodies of water 90% of the time. There was no difference in the use of each foraging environment between bats in early pregnancy and late pregnancy. However, bats in late pregnancy and those that were lactating did use arable land to different extents, and bats that were lactating and those that were post-lactation also used arable land and bodies of water to different extents.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 2008

The foraging behavior of the beauty goby, Pterogobius zacalles, was studied at Mutu Bay, Aomori province, Japan. P. zacalles harvested invertebrates prey from benthic substrates by using two distinct foraging modes: picking substrate among boulders and sucking surface of boulder. Among others, picking substrate among boulders was primarily used foraging mode. The foraging modes of P. zacalles were followed by three stages: searching for prey, feeding and chewing. For foraging, it takes less time to suck out the surface of boulder than pick up substrate among boulders, because the resting site of P. zacalles is close to the place where they do sucking. The diets of P. zacalles primarily consisted of benthic amphipods regardless of their foraging modes. Only the difference was that they can get bigger amphipods when they did picking rather than sucking. Even though it needs more time and energy to do picking, P. zacalles was compensated by getting a high-calorie diet eventually, therefore prey size can be the determinant of their foraging modes.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2008

As a step toward developing conservation and restoration plans for an endangered species of the Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana), we studied daily foraging behavior and ecology. We released two individuals, male and female, after enclosing study site with a fence and cutting out a part of two or three feathers of primaries. Research was conducted from 16 June to 11 July, 2007 for 25 days at Whawonri, Mewonmyung, Chungbuk province. We investigated diural and daily variation of foraging time budget, diet composition, and habitat selection of the feeding individuals. The storks quadratically invested for foraging time and resting time according to time of day, but no significant variation in the foraging time and resting time appeared daily over 25 days. As a result, the storks mainly used wetland as a foraging site in the center of the study area to that in the edge as well as to other types of habitat. The high usage for wetland in the center did not change over the 25 days while Rice field decreased and Wetland in the edge and Pathway increased. Female invested more time for foraging than male, but the foraging efficiency did not differ between them. We discussed the significance of foraging behavior and habitat selection for management plan.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2018

During the breeding season, some Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) in Yubu Island foraged in the open mudflat area nearby the breeding ground, instead of the tide water line area, main feeding site throughout the year. We found significant differences in foraging behavior and prey species diversity between the two different feeding site types. Even though the birds took more steps for most probably searching preys, their feeding success was much lower in the open mudflat area than the tide water line area. The multiple peck and boring methods were more frequently adopted to catch polychaetes on the open mudflat area, whereas the single peck method was dominant and gastropods and bivalves were main preys in the tide water line area. This study suggests that the bird shows flexible foraging strategy of shifting feeding site, foraging behavior and preys for better reproductive success.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2009

The Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana) is an endangered species in Korea as well as in the world. In order to provide information on foraging habitats for releasing storks to the wild, we studied the foraging behavior of the species according to different food densities and water levels. We released two individuals, male and female, after enclosing a study site with a fence and cutting out a part of two or three primary feathers. Research was conducted from 20 June to 16 August 2008 at Whawon-ri, Mewon-myung, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. We investigated habitat patch usage, foraging efficiency, and foraging methods of the feeding individuals in the different food densities and water levels. The storks invested more for foraging time and trials, and they captured more food in a habitat of high food density than others. The female invested more time and captured food most in a habitat of lowest water depth while the male in a habitat of middle water depth. However, foraging efficiency did not differ significantly among habitats of food density and water depth, and only differed between male and female by ways of foraging method. From this study we suggest that the storks select foraging habitats and foraging methods under different conditions of food density and water depth.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2007

We investigated the foraging habitat preferences of herons and egrets in an agricultural area in Asan city, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. In the study area, rice fields were the most abundant habitat type (86.8%) and total suitable feeding habitat was greater in the northern area (59.0%) than the southern area (22.5%) of the colony. Most feeding herons and egrets were located in the northern area of the colony. The number of feeding individuals in a given area was related to the available feeding area (Pearson correlation, r=0.773, p<0.001 for field habitats; r=0.901, p<0.001 for freshwater habitats). Feeding habitat preferences differed among species. Grey herons (Ardea cinerea), great egrets (Egretta alba), and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) used reservoirs and ditches. However, intermediate egrets (E. intermedia) and cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) were dependent on rice fields. The little egret (E. garzetta) was a habitat generalist using all types of habitats. The two largest species, grey herons and great egrets, fed at deeper site than little egrets and foraged in deeper sites in reservoirs than in ditches (${\chi}^2-test,\;{\chi}^2{_3}=26.6$ and p<0.001 for grey herons, ${\chi}^2{_3}=17.5$ and p<0.001 for great egrets). All species displayed seasonal changes in feeding habitat use and these changes were related with changes in availability of feeding habitats.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.253-261
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• 1996

This study was conducted to clarify the relationship between bird community and forest structure from early May to mid June, 1988 in two sites which had different forest structures due to silvicultural practice, located in the Tomakomai Experimental Forest of Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan. Quantitative ahbitat analysis was applied to elucidate difference between the two study sites, and territory mapping method and guild analysis were used for assessment of the bird community. Dominant tree species were Quercus mongolica, Magnolia obovata, Prunus sargentii, Acer mono and Tilia japonica. Unithinned site had more foliage coverage in upper and middle layers, but in lower layer had less coverage than thinned site. Thirty four species of birds were recorded and of them only 21 species occupied territories within the study area. Dominant species were Ficedula narcissina, Phylloscopus occipitalis, Parus major, Passer rutilans, Sitta europaea and Parus palustris in the study area. The unmber of breeding species of the two sites were equal, but the species composition of breeding bird communities was different between the sites. The number of species and pairs on hole-nesting guild were greater in the unthinned site, but those on ground-nesting guild were greater in the thinned site. Canopy-nesting guild showed no significant difference between the two sites. Silvicultural practice such as proper thinning appeared to be not inadequate to all of the forest birds, probably good to bush and ground nesting guild, and to tree & bush and ground foraging guild. The silvicultural practice also did not considerably affect the hole and canopy-nesting guild.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1227-1234
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• 2013

Between July and October 2011, radio-tracking was used to analyze the characteristics of home ranges and day roosts of Myotis aurascens by using 3 individuals (male: 2, female: 1). Bat capturing was conducted at a bridge and a nearby forest in Ulju-gun, Ulsan-si. We attached radio transmitters (0.32 g) to the bats and monitored them by using a radio receiver with a Yagi antenna. Home-range analysis of M. aurascens by using 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) and 95% MCP showed an average of 106.5 ha and 89.3 ha, respectively, and 50% kernel home range (KHR) showed an average of 8.4 ha. Home range overlap of the 3 bats was observed at the bridge and at nearby water bodies as the core areas, and the size of the home range overlap was 7.3 ha by 100% MCP, 5.9 ha by 95% MCP, and 1.6 ha by 50% KHR. The home range for each bat consisted of the main foraging sites, and the types of foraging sites were similar. M. aurascens-01(M-01) used the bridge and nearby water bodies as the nightly main core areas, M. aurascens-02(M-02) used rice fields and water bodies adjacent to the forest as core areas, and M. aurascens-03(M-03) used water bodies and resident areas as core areas. Although rice fields and resident sites represented the core areas of the home ranges of M-02 and M-03, habitat use was the highest near water bodies as the core area for all the 3 bats. The types of day roosts in this study were a wooden house, canopies of a broad-leaved woodland, and banks of rice fields. The roosts in the wooden house and canopies of the broad-leaved woodland were located within the forest, and the roost in the banks of rice fields was also adjacent to the forest. Our results revealed that the main home range and foraging sites of M. aurascens were located near water bodies as the core area, and forests and places adjacent to the forests were used as day roosts.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 2009

Pre-dispersal seed predation by a granivorous bird, the masked grosbeak (Eophona personata, Fringillidae), was investigated in two bird-dispersed trees, Celtis sinensis and Aphananthe aspera (Ulmaceae). The objectives of this study were to 1) measure direct damage of predation by grosbeaks on plant crops, 2) reveal the temporal pattern of predation within each tree species and its causal factors, and 3) test whether foraging grosbeaks hinder foraging of frugivorous birds, thereby indirectly impacting the reproduction of both tree species. A substantial amount of fruit and seed crop was consumed by grosbeaks (24.3% in Celtis; 55.5% in Aphananthe), and only 17.7% (Celtis) and 16.7% (Aphananthe) were removed by frugivorous birds. At the study site, the grosbeak population size fluctuated greatly during the fruiting seasons of both plant species. As for Celtis, predated seed density also fluctuated temporally, and the local population size of grosbeaks was responsible for predated seed density. In Aphananthe, predation was not fully explained by grosbeak populations or plant phenology, but its peak coincided with that of grosbeak population. These results suggest that predispersal seed predation by granivorous birds can have large negative impacts on the bird-dispersed plants. Changes in local population size of granivorous birds can influence predatation and can affect reproductive success of the bird-dispersed plants available to the birds.